Hi all! I'm gearing up for medical residency interviews (like a job interview), and I would really love to sew my suit. I have made some jackets in the past, but I haven't made a suit jacket. I'm wondering what style you guys think would be easiest to sew and yet look professional. While this doesn't need to be a cookie cutter suit, it should overall be a traditional look and not something way over the top. I'm particularly thinking about details like lapels--maybe a shawl collar would be easier to do as it wouldn't have all those sharp points? I do like a shawl collar on a suit.

I am planning to make pants rather than a skirt, if that makes a difference.

It's not a shawl collar, and I am not sure if the style is reasonable anymore today, but I bought Butterick 4138 to sew for my niece five or six years ago when she asked me to make a jacket for her for job interviews. But she ended up getting a job offer before she had picked out the fabric! So I didn't get to sew it. Butterick rated it as "Very Easy" which is their easiest rating, so I figured it couldn't get easier than that, especially since it said it was a two-hour pattern. It's been languishing in a box somewhere since then. Worst part is that I bought it at full price because she needed it right away.

I do like that Kwik sew jacket.. Personally I would stay far away from the project runway patterns. I bought several having never put one together. I threw them away, as they were so complex I could not even figure out what pattern pieces I would use!

I know the collar isn't what you want, but view b of the butterick pattern is really pretty.

Thanks for the input, and keep it coming! So far these two patterns are near the top of my list: Vogue 2925, which does not have a shawl collar but I do like the rounded lapel and the peplum, and McCall's 5477, which is less traditional but I think would be very nice done up in a more conservative fabric. I would do plain, long sleeves without any gathers at the sleeve cap or flouncy bits. I think it's quite similar to that Kwik Sew one, Lennie. Also trying to get my Wild Ginger software going again to see if I can come up with anything on that.

The Butterick one Miss Fleecy posted is not bad, but I would prefer a lined jacket. Otherwise I feel like I will have to invest a lot of time making the inside look nice, in case I have to take it off over the course of the interview day. I know better than to believe the "two hour" claim, but at least you know it probably won't require a week of full time sewing! You probably sew faster than I do, though, Miss Fleecy.

Kaitlin, I love Palmer-Pletsch patterns by McCall's as they have excellent instructions. I think you would like McCall's #6655 as it has several jacket versions. I like it as it has side front & side back seams as well as a 2pc sleeve. One version is a shawl collar with welt flaps. You could always opt to leave off the welt flaps. I think this would easy & would really work for any occasion where you need a jacket with pants or a skirt. I plan to pick up this pattern tomorrow or one day next week as I'm wanting some nice light weight jackets for fall. Marty

I really don't like the project runway patterns for trying to figure out how much fabric to buy, and their sewing methods are kind of strange. But if you have a good idea of what you are doing, meaning, experienced at sewing, you can figure them out. They do have some cute styles, but they aren't simple!

LauraGo Canucks!Asking a quilter to mend something is like asking Picasso to paint your garage